Not My Mate - Finished

“Well, everyone.” My mother said with a smile. “I think we're done. Close your books.” She closed the large textbook she was holding, and we all followed suit. All werewolves were home-schooled until their last week of being 17. The Alpha female, in this case, my mother, typically is the one to home-school. There was a small class of us, including my boyfriend, Seth, and my best friend, Talia. Talia was a human, the only one in our pack. Humans typically were not part of the wolf pack typically, but she was adopted into a family when she was left just outside our borders as a baby. The scary part of her approaching adulthood was that she would need to leave if she was ever going to find a life partner – wolves and humans could marry, but not procreate. My brother, Ben, who was two years older than me and in line to take our father's place as Alpha, came downstairs. “Where's Lena?” My mother asked him. Lena was Ben's mate, and our future alpha female. Alpha females were also called Lunas. “Lena went out with her friends. She's still feeling down about the baby, so wanted to get out of the house.” He said, looking down to his feet. He was also feeling down about their miscarriage. They tried for two years to get pregnant, and miscarried soon after it finally happened. This was unusual for wolves. “I'm going to shift and run with some of the boys, check in with dad on security.” He said. “Mom, Seth and I are going upstairs.” I told her, after the rest of the crew cleared out. “Okay. Bria, remember what I've told you, please.” She said while casting her best mom look at me. Seth and I knew we were mates. Usually, when you turned 18, you would go before the Elder of Love and learn who your mate was. Most people knew before that time if you had already met your mate, because you felt an instant draw to them from the moment you met them. In most cases, 18 year old males would have younger mates, and have to wait for them for a year or two. 18 year old females would have slightly older mates. My brother and I both got lucky to have mates that were our exact age. We both grew up with ours. My father being the Alpha had it's perks, and I found mine out at 16. I had known since 12, and Seth and I had been dating since 14. My mother gave me the constant warning not to have s*x with him, because we didn't want to become parents before our mating ceremony. Wolves are typically extremely fertile, and are not known to use contraception. Mating ceremonies take place as soon as both parties would like after each is 18. They are similar to human weddings, but much less extreme. The pack comes together, and the Elder of Love binds the two together with a special ritual. Seth and I were already planning ours. His father was the Beta, or second in command. I would be second in command beside him. We knew already that we were mates, so we were planning our mating ceremony for a few days after I turned 18. He was two days older, but my 18th birthday was only a week away. Our mating ceremony would be two days after, on that Saturday. We laid in bed, we acted like we were already bonded. Our parents asked us not to have s*x before our mating ceremony, and we obliged, but we stayed each night together and spent most days together, as well.  I snuggled into Seth's chest, comforted by the rise and fall of his breath. He pulled me close to him, giving me a kiss on top of the head. “Nine more days.” He said, a smile forming on his face. “I can't wait to see our baby.” “Me, too.” I said. “You know, they may not notice if we do it now... it's just nine days.” I said, teasing him with my voice and pressing my hips against his. “Woman. You're going to kill me with that. No... we're going to wait. A wolf pregnancy is only nine weeks, if yours is a week less, they'll notice.” He said. He was right, they would notice. “You're right. I'm just anxious.” I said. “Not anxious, excited.” I kissed his lips, and he hummed quietly, kissing me back. “I know what you mean. You're going to be the best Beta female Earth Moon has ever had.” He said. There were five main packs in our area. Earth Moon and Water Moon were allied. Earth Moon was our pack, Water Moon was neighboring. Air Moon was not an ally, but not an enemy. Fire Moon was our rival, though the rivalry had sat for years with no issues. Spirit Moon was on their own, and remained neutral. They helped everyone when needed, but stayed out of rivalries. They were mysterious to most of us.  “Bria?” My mom called from downstairs. “Your father wants to see you with Elder Jonathan, in the meeting room.” “OK, coming!” I yelled back. I grabbed Seth's wrist to pull him with me. “It's probably about our mating ceremony. Come on.” He giggled and followed my lead downstairs to meet with my father.